Five Golden Tickets
by leah61909
Summary: If the tickets had hearts and minds, what would they think of the five winners? What if the tickets were capable of doing more than changing destinies forever?


**Author's Note: I was just watching the 1971 version of Roald Dahl's famous book **_**Charlie and the Chocolate Factory**_**, and while watching the five winners of Wonka's contest I wondered what the tickets would think of their finders if they had minds and hearts. Thus, this was created.**

** Disclaimer: Roald Dahl wrote the book and Mel Stuart directed the movie. I just considered the concept and wrote about it.**

Willy Wonka was growing old with each passing day. He could not live forever, and he had no intention of trying. As the chocolate bars were sold and new candies were invented, one nagging question plagued him with each busy moment: "Whom can I trust to run the factory? Who can I ask to care for the Oompa Loompas?"

The ideas were formed and put into action. He created five golden tickets, hid them in candy bars, and trusted them to take care of the rest. He advertised the contest, and the whole world scrambled and searched for the tickets. But only Willy Wonka knew that these tickets could do more than hide: in each golden ticket he placed a mind and a heart, and he all but begged them to find for him five children who could take a peep into the factory and to find the child who would become the next chocolatier. Each of the tickets, with their new hearts and minds, had the power to control when, where, and by whom they would be found.

The first golden ticket thought of the chocolate in his quest. He searched exotic countries round the world for one who would appreciate the chocolate and candy more than any other, and his search led him to Augustus Gloop, the boy who loved any food he could find. The first ticket was repulsed by the boy's uncaring nature; though a polite enough boy, he could never stop eating at all. He seemed to always have food in his mouth, even when he talked. On the first of October, the ticket was held by hands covered with crumbs and powdered sugar and saliva. And the first golden ticket was sorry that he placed himself into the hands of such a repulsive and greedy child.

The second golden ticket was ambitious and searched for a child who would get things done his or her way and immediately. And so he placed himself in the hands of Veruca Salt, the girl who always got what she wanted. But she screamed and threw tantrums and never showed gratitude when things went her way. As a matter of fact, her father's reward for spoiling her was the constant chorus of "Daddy, I want this" or "Daddy, I want that", or more commonly "I want it now!" On the first of October, the ticket was shown off with a false smile and hands that had not done anything worthwhile. And the second golden ticket was sorry that he placed himself into the hands of the spoiled child.

The third golden ticket appreciated childhood and growth. He stayed in America to search for a potential heir who was childlike through and through. And so he placed himself in the hands of Violet Beauregarde, and though she was childlike it was not in the way the ticket desired. She was rude and ill-mannered, asking inappropriate questions at inappropriate times and sharing details no one wanted to know. On the first of October, the ticket endured being grasped by grimy, hardly-washed fingers. And the third golden ticket was sorry that he placed himself into the hands of such a rude child.

The fourth golden ticket went slightly deeper than that of the third. His search was for a child who had a heart for adventure. And so he placed himself in the hands of Mike Teavee, a western boy who knew neither limits nor boundaries. But he would never lift his body off of the couch, and his only activity other than school was watching adventures happen on the television. On the first of October, the ticket was squished and waved around by the fried potato-headed boy. And the fourth golden ticket was sorry that he placed himself into the hands of a boy who only held a remote and a fake pistol.

The fifth golden ticket was the ticket with a shy nature. His quest was to find a child with a pure heart of gold and a mind full of dreams, dreams that were limitless and as pure as the dreamer's heart. He hid deep in the pile of chocolate bars, refusing to let the shopkeeper touch him. He watched the children come and go from inside his hiding place, but he did not see the one he searched for. On the final day of the contest, he sat on the counter with a heavy heart. And then a boy walked into the store, one who the shopkeeper appeared to have never seen before (even though the children of the town always stopped by in the afternoon). He was a very poor lad; his clothes were out of style, his bag was old, and when he ate the first chocolate bar he bought the ticket wondered if the boy had eaten recently at all. The boy paused at the door and asked for another bar for his grandfather. From that act of selflessness, the ticket knew that his search was over. The shopkeeper took the ticket's bar from the counter and gave it to the boy, who paid the amount needed and left the shop. He knew the boy would open the bar as soon as he heard that the final ticket had not been found, but in the ticket's mind this act of compulsive curiosity was quite alright; this was the boy he was looking for. Charlie Bucket, the fifth and final winner of the contest, smiled at the ticket as though he had just seen the sun for the first time. The ticket smiled up at his new owner, and if words could be said he would've said "What took you so long? I've been waiting forever for you!"

As the ticket was brought to the boy's old shabby home, his assurance in the boy was intensified. The grandfather stood and walked for the first time in twenty years, and all because the boy's greatest dream had become a reality. The ticket had no regrets when Charlie Bucket introduced himself to the greatest magician in history, and when it was announced that the boy would be the heir to the entire chocolate factory, the ticket knew without a single doubt that Willy Wonka's dreams and legacy would never die.

**AN: …yeah, the ending was a little rushed, but other than that I'm curious of what you guys think. Reviews? Comments? Constructive Criticism?**


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